


The New Dingle

by TheonSugden



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alcohol, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-16 23:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4643349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheonSugden/pseuds/TheonSugden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron helps his niece Sarah cope with a new baby in the family...but Robert is never far from his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Dingle

“Just make sure you clean up all the beer cans under your bed. And the mountains of dirty laundry.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. 

“If you’re that picky, let ‘er stay in your room. Long as she don’t choke on those feather boas.”

“Oi!” Chas winced as Aaron cleared the dinner dishes. “Let’s not fight. Today’s a…happy day.”

“Yeah,” Aaron scoffed. “Not every day your auntie pops a sprog in prison gray.”

Under the sarcasm, he was happy to have Sarah and Jack staying for the night while Pete and Debbie prepared everything for a new baby. Diane having her grandkids around helped stave off how cut up she was about Vic, and Aaron’s own guilt over lying about Vic doing a runner. And he was happy to have new faces around the place - otherwise he was starting to hate it. 

“I’ll wash up if you wanna go help Diane put Jack to bed,” he offered. 

“Thanks, luv,” she said back, still a little surprised when he was being helpful.

By the time he finished, Sarah was watching him, quietly, the way she usually watched people.

He put the cloth on the counter and walked over, kneeling down to her level.

“Nice plushie,” he said, waiting for her to let him see the expensive-looking stuffed toy.

“Mary at school says we’re too old for these.”

He ruffled her hair.

“Bullsh…ine. Nobody tells a Dingle what to do, right?”

“Not even other Dingles,” she added, as he laughed quietly.

She handed the toy over. He ran his hand down the soft fabric.

“Prince Charming from that movie, right?”

She nodded.

“He’s well fit. Maybe I should get me one.”

Sarah smiled.

“You can borrow mine. Or get Uncle Rob to buy you one.”

He lowered his gaze to the floor, trying to hide the mix of disgust and longing at the mention of Robert’s name. 

“Robert, huh?”

Sarah nodded again.

“Mummy said she didn’t want him giving me expensive presents, but I could keep it ‘cos of the new baby.”

Chas, who’d come back when he wasn’t looking, screwed up her face.

“Surprised he didn’t just give ya a cardboard cutout of himself.”

Aaron shook his head at her, not wanting to poison Robert’s niece against him regardless of how he felt about the man. He was rewarded with an epic head shake and sneer in return.

“Sure he was just tryin’ to show ya how happy he is to get to spend time with ya.”

He tentatively gave her the plushie back, which she slung under her arm.

“I think he’s afraid I won’t like him very much,” she said, almost casually, so casually she didn’t notice how it made Aaron freeze up.

Aaron shot another warning glance at Chas before continuing.

“Think he’s just nervous since he barely knows ya, and ‘cos he’s a bit thick. So just put up with ‘im and he’ll be the best uncle he can be, alright?”

Sarah gave him one last nod, mixed with a heavy yawn, before saying her goodnights. 

Before Chas left with her, Aaron mouthed, “Don’t start,” taking a glance at the picture of Jack Sugden and boy Robert on his dad’s shoulders. 

It was all he needed as motivation to take a walk around the village, take in the warm early summer night.

Chas was blessedly out when he got back in a few hours later, so he kicked off his shoes and laid back on the sofa.

A few more hours passed and he felt a tug on his arm.

“Aaron?”

He stifled a yawn, seeing a sleepy-eyed Sarah as he rubbed his own sleepy eyes with the heels of his hands. 

“Can’t sleep?”

Sarah shook her head.

“How would you feel if you had a new baby in the house?”

Aaron said nothing at first, remembering how horrible he’d been to his stepmum when she was pregnant, how he was lucky that she made it through the pregnancy at all. 

“It’s just…Mummy had Jack to help me, and I was so sick. Now there’s this…this baby. I don’t understand why it’s here.”

Aaron chuckled.

“Don’t think any of us do, Sarah. Just more fun life with your granny…don’t tell 'er I called 'er that. Best I can say is - imagine how shocked your mam is. Give ‘er a chance to deal with it and she’ll do her best to help you and Jack deal with it, right?”

Sarah seemed uncertain…the way Aaron so often felt in his life. And just like him, she seemed to give the answer she thought she was supposed to give.

“OK.”

She hugged Aaron, an all too rare moment for him.

“Why don’t I take ya back to me room, maybe show ya my old dirty socks?”

Sarah smiled, and let him lead the way. 

He tucked her in, sat with her, watched her sleep.

As the sun began to come up, he saw an old beer can under the bed. 

“Mam was right…” he muttered, shaking his head and grinning. “Sure not gonna let her know…”


End file.
